


White & Grey

by j_ranked



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, M/M, Sheith Halloween Exchange, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 19:31:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12588984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_ranked/pseuds/j_ranked
Summary: Keith and Shiro are assigned to each other for the Altean coven's peace coalition's annual partnership event. Love happens.





	White & Grey

**Author's Note:**

> For Existence_proof @ twitter! I hope you like it! Happy Halloween!

If there’s anything Keith dislikes about the Altean coven’s peace coalition, it’s undoubtedly the gatherings.

The static of numerous charms is thick in the air, standing the hair on his neck beneath his cloak’s hood, and the taste of foreign quintessence is heavy on his tongue. So many magically-inclined in one location has drenched the area in an unnaturally still atmosphere, the noises of wildlife leaving behind only the unsettling tension.

A bonfire burns bright beneath the stars and moon and casts a warm glow over the towering trees of the forest and the many people in attendance. From his spot beside his coven faction leader, Kolivan, he sees Olia and the other Altean branch-off factions quietly speaking to one another as they wait beside the roaring flames.

Standing closer to the woods along with Keith’s own coven, the Galra and its branch-off factions are a united force, outnumbering the others by several hundred. Lotor’s coven faction is close, navy and orange allegiance colors intermingling with the dark grey and enchanted violet of the Marmora, while black and red cloaks span most of the forest’s edge. The Druid’s are a spot of dark, silky cloaks draped over spindly frames, bird-like masks disembodied skulls in the unnatural haze of darkness they carry like an infection.

The amount of black and grey witches far outnumbers the white of the coalition’s other half and Keith can already see the barely concealed looks of distain on several faces looking over.

The Altean coven’s leader, Allura, begins to address everyone but Keith tunes her out. He’s heard the speech enough times, listened too intently when he was still too young to be involved in the annual partnership assignments. Back then, he had bought into the propaganda of it strengthening coalition relationships instead of it being what it actually was: a monitoring system for the Altean’s to keep an eye on the Galra during the dark season.

Keith eyes the brightly colored cloaks near the flames, wondering who his watcher will be until spring arrives. His first time in the event, he was assigned to Matthew Holt, one of the subleaders in Olia’s faction, and he finds himself hoping they’ll get assigned to each other again despite the odds against it.

At the very least, he hopes to get someone from Olia’s coven.

Regris nudges his arm as partners are beginning to be announced. Keith keeps an attentive ear on Allura’s voice as he watches pairs greet each other and leave, no doubt already heading towards their designated ‘safe house’.

“Keith of Marmora and Shiro of Altea!”

Heart sinking into his stomach, Keith dips his head to his coven mates and walks to the edge of the woods where other partners had come together. A man dressed in black and white robes is already waiting, looking all too happy to have Keith as his partner. A scar crinkles over the bridge of his nose as he grins and his fringe is a frosty white that glows in the firelight. He’s handsome in a way that makes Keith’s neck and cheeks flush, glad to have the Marmora mask hiding away his features.

Even hidden beneath the cloth of the other’s cloak, Keith can sense raw dark energy emanating from Shiro’s right arm, a siren’s call to any dark mage. He carefully ignores it, fighting against the instinctive desire to get closer, and when they shake hands, a thrill of power jolts through him at the contact and shivers under his skin. Goosebumps rise on his arms.

“Hey,” Keith greets and hates the breathless way he sounds.

“Hey yourself,” Shiro laughs softly, unbothered by Keith’s reaction, and gestures to the trail out of the woods. “Wanna get out of here?”

Keith nods quickly and Shiro leads the way out of the clearing and onto the trail leading back to the town. Glamor shivers over both their figures as they hike along the path, cloaks receding into regular clothing. Shiro is wearing an outfit that reminds Keith of a librarian or school teacher, a knitted vest over a long-sleeve shirt and slacks, looking vastly different from the powerful figure he made while cloaked.

He’s still unfairly attractive.

Adjusting the hood of his sweater and pretending he can’t see the other drinking in his once covered face, Keith shuffles along the path, branches and leave crunching underfoot. They’re quiet as they trek through the forest, moonlight shining down on them.

“I guess we should properly introduce ourselves since we’ll be with each other for a while,” Shiro finally says, breaking the silence. “I’m Takashi Shirogane, but you can call me Shiro. I have an affinity towards and exclusively use white magic. I mainly work in potions, so if you have any questions about that or anything of the sort, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Keith sends him a side glance, chewing his lip for a moment before speaking. “I’m Keith Kogane. I have an affinity towards black magic, but I exclusively use grey. I’m good at… fire magic, I guess.”

Not looking the least put out by the short reply and his affinity, Shiro gives a gentle smile as he steers them off of the trail and into a parking lot, fishing keys out of his pocket. “I look forward to working with you, Keith.”

“… You too.”

 

 

Their safe house turns out to be high in the mountains, miles from town yet the perfect place to gather materials for potions. Shiro wasn’t lying about specializing in potions. There’s a near constant pot boiling and brewing over the stove and Shiro often goes hiking to gather materials himself.

Keith, after a couple weeks of carefully avoiding spending too much personal time with the other, eventually starts joining him on his excursions, taking his offer of learning more about potions and brewing his own strains as Shiro makes his. Shiro is patient with him, infinitely gentle and kind, even when Keith loses his cool and reduces his own grimoire into ashes in a fit of irritation. Shiro’s maudlin sense of humor and encouraging sentiments are a complete one eighty from the Marmora.

It’s… nice.

Instead of hiding away in his room and pouring over books of black magic, Keith find himself taking a more active role in witchcraft, brewing up medicine and bottling luck for Shiro’s clients when the other man is too busy with another job.

Time passes quickly once Keith stops denying himself Shiro’s company and the occasional busywork and soon enough, the dark season is nearly over. When New Year passes them, Keith is abruptly reminded of their limited time together and his chest aches at the thought of them parting ways, of them possible never speaking to one another again. Matt’s company had been hard to part from, he can only imagine the hurt that will come from separating with Shiro.

Keith is self-aware enough to admit to himself that he likes Shiro and his attention a little bit more than a friend would.

That’s why when Shiro approaches him when he’s in a particularly gloomy mood, lounging in the crook of the window and staring out at the vast forest around them, Keith finally decides to come clean.

“Are you alright, Keith?” Shiro asks, nudging aside the younger’s legs to make room for himself. Even after all this time, the touch of his prosthetic’s magic makes his skin tingle and Keith conceals a shiver as he shifts.

“Nothing,” Keith sighs, drawing invisible lines between the trees before turning to look at Shiro’s concerned expression. “I was just thinking of… after spring.”

Running a hand through the white fringe of his hair, Shiro gives a smile that’s just shy of mischievous. “You’re gonna miss me, huh?”

“Of course I will, you dork.” Keith pushes at the other’s shoulder, a bit disgruntled. He thinks of lonely days spent in his home, of fire and violet purple that sinks beneath his eyelids – then thinks of content days with Shiro in the safe house, arguing over grocery lists and kicking Shiro out of the kitchen when it came to cooking meals. “ _Someone’s_ gotta make sure you remember to crush the hemlock properly when making potions.”

A flush spreads over the tips of Shiro’s ears at the jibe, but he doesn’t argue. “I’m going to miss you, too, Keith.” He seems to hesitate for a moment before leaning in and cradling one of Keith’s hands between his. Shiro’s palms are much larger and Keith’s nails are a charcoal black against the peach of Shiro’s skin. “But it’s not like we won’t see each other again. The coalition has gatherings every month.”

Keith’s brow furrows in discontent and he’s about to open his mouth to state his point when the quick press of soft lips against his own steals his voice before he can.

Choking a little, Keith blinks incredulously as Shiro pulls back and gives him a shy grin, grey eyes lighting up as heat crawls up the back of Keith’s neck. “Besides,” Shiro begins, “I would come visit you, even if they didn’t. If you would have me.”

Warmth spreads through Keith’s chest like wildfire, giddy like a child as butterflies blossom in his stomach, and he adjusts their hands so he can squeeze the palms that were around his. A smile curves his mouth and he leans forward to press it into the bulk of Shiro’s shoulder. “If you’ll have me, as well.”

Shiro hums and pries one hand away to smooth down Keith’s hair, resting his cheek against the younger’s. The Marmora member half expects his magic to betray his emotions and start acting up, but instead he just feels calm and comfortable.

“… The coalition isn’t going to be happy about this, you know,” Keith feels the need to point out. Shiro is an esteemed member of the Altean coven and the very idea of him together with a grey witch is probably ludicrous. Keith is looking forward to the chaos as much as he’s dreading it.

Shiro chuckles, breath tickling Keith’s ear, and leans back to brush dark locks from amethyst eyes. He gives a lingering kiss to plush lips, one that has Keith feeling a bit dazed by the end of it and Shiro once more grinning in satisfaction of the situation, not looking one bit worried about the coalition’s reaction.

“They’re the ones that paired us together,” Shiro states, still cradling Keith’s face, “They’ll just have to deal with the consequences.”

**Author's Note:**

> full disclosure, the witch/mage au prompt actually inspired a super long plotline that i knew i wouldn't be able to write within the time limit (especially since my schedule is just beginning to slow down), so i decided to just do little scenes of the beginning and end-ish. i'll definitely be returning to this AU at some point, once my life calms down and i've completed my sheith bb (which is so incredibly late, i want to drink acid). 
> 
> anyways, happy halloween!!


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